Writing to Heal

A big thank you to everyone who made last weekend such a good experience at Ty Newydd. Writing to Heal - a big task in a short weekend, but one that Damian Gorman and Patrick Jones handled sensitively and effectively, and made fun too for the eleven of us there. And, once again, great weather for the weekend - good enough to swim in the sea, walk by the river, sit out in the garden. I can't believe that I'll be so lucky again on another visit next month.

Over the years Ty Newydd has become very special to me. The courses I've attended there, the people I've met, the opportunities that the peaceful but stimulating atmosphere of the house has afforded - they've all contributed so much to my writing. As did all residential centres, Ty Newydd suffered in the pandemic but is now firmly back on its feet. It's a real privilege to spend time there.

Yr Hen Iaith

To say it was a surprise is the understatement of the year; when I first heard that I had won the Foundation Learners Prize for Composition at the National Eisteddfod I was convinced it was a mistake. It was for a piece I had written and submitted before the pandemic which I had assumed had disappeared for good. But last week in Tregaron - on one of the days when it didn't rain! - I was overjoyed to receive the award from Jeremy Miles, the Welsh minister for education, on Maes D. I've been fortunate to win writing prizes in the past but this, for a few hundred words in yr hen iaith (the old language), the language of my grandparents, means more to me than anything.

In the excellent art exhibition at the Eisteddfod was one very striking piece - My Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau (the Welsh national anthem) worked in soil, slate and coal dust, appearing as if weathered on a grave stone.  What a stark warning that what you don't use, you may well lose. Thank heavens that, after some rocky years in the mid 20th century, the language is enjoying a great resurgence. J.R.R. Tolkien wrote that "Welsh is of this soil, this island, the senior language of the men of Britain and Welsh is beautiful." I couldn't agree with him more.